Kievan Rus' - Ukraine Origins (Київська Русь)

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• published: 11 Mar 2012
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Kievan Rus' or more correctly Kyivan Rus' (Ukraine - Україна) - The first state to arise among the Eastern Slavs and Ukrainians. It took its name from the city of Kyiv, the seat of the grand prince from about 880 until the beginning of the 13th century. At its zenith, it covered a territory stretching from the Carpathian Mountains to the Volga River, and from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. The state's rapid rise and development was based on its advantageous location at the intersection of major north-south and east-west land and water trade routes with access to two major seas, and favorable local conditions for the development of agriculture. In the end, however, the state's great size led to the development of centrifugal tendencies and local interests that limited its political and social cohesion. This, and its proximity to the Asian steppes, which left it vulnerable to invasions of nomadic hordes, eventually contributed to the decline of Kyivan Rus'. In the 8th century, the territory of Kyivan Rus' was inhabited by a number of tribes who shared a common proto-Slavic language, pagan beliefs, and life-style. The ancestors of the Ukrainians included the Polianians, Siverianians, Derevlianians, Dulibians, White Croatians, Ulychians, and Tivertsians. The proto-Russian Krivichians, Viatichians, and Radimichians and the proto-Belorussian Drehovichians also lived on the lands that eventually constituted Kyivan Rus'. The Polianians were the largest and most developed of the tribes; according to the Rus' Primary Chronicle, their prince Kyi founded the city of Kyiv in the 6th century. None of the tribes, however, was able to create a viable state, and in the 9th century the Varangians from Scandinavia formed specific union with the tribes and laid the groundwork for the Kyivan Rus' state. The question of the origins of Kyivan Rus' still produces controversy among historians. The oldest, or Normanist theory rests mainly on a literal interpretation of the Primary Chronicle and stresses the role of the Varangians as the first leaders and organizers of the state. Ukrainian historians, beginning with Mykhailo Maksymovych and followed by Mykola Kostomarov, Volodymyr Antonovych, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Dmytro Bahalii, Dmytro Doroshenko, Mykola Chubaty, and others, have generally downplayed the Varangian influence on the formation of Rus'. (Kiewer Rus - Kievriget - Rus de Kiev - Kiievi-Vene - Kiovan Venäjä - Rus' de Kiev - Kijevi Rusz - Rus' di Kiev - Kijevo Rusia - Kievse Rijk - Kievriket - Ruś Kijowska - Киевская Русь - Київська Русь)